Chapter 60, The Result
The next morning, when Lin Qingqing opened the door, she found that the vegetables Yang Li had planted in the yard had been pulled up, and not even the bamboo poles were left. She was a little surprised.
Although she made some harsh words, she didn't expect Yang Li to be so conscientious. She thought Yang Li would keep dragging it out, but it turned out she was wrong.
Yu Xiuhong went outside and saw Lin Qingqing staring blankly at the empty vegetable garden by the door. She locked the door, came over with her son, and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"It's nothing," Lin Qingqing said, shaking her head.
Yu Xiuhong didn't believe her. Pointing to the bare ground in front of her house, she said, "Looking at the land, huh? Deputy Battalion Commander Hong pulled it up overnight yesterday, and his wife cried for a long time."
"Deputy Battalion Commander Hong?" Lin Qingqing was stunned.
Seeing her puzzled look, Yu Xiuhong was also surprised: "You don't know? Yesterday, Regiment Commander Xie came to your door and told Deputy Battalion Commander Hong to deal with the vegetables in the field in front of your house. He also told Deputy Battalion Commander Hong to keep an eye on his wife and not to gossip about you all the time."
Lin Qingqing genuinely didn't know about this. She was taking a shower when Xie Wei left yesterday, and Xie Wei returned home after she finished showering.
Seeing that she knew nothing, Yu Xiuhong felt a surge of envy and jealousy. There's really no comparison between people.
Her conflict with Yang Li had been going on for a while, but she said Chen Aiguo had been advising her, saying that harmony between neighbors brings wealth, and at most he would just verbally reprimand her. She hadn't thought there was anything wrong with it before, and Chen Aiguo had always made her happy.
But now look at Xie Wei, he just comes to your door, and after he gets things done, he doesn't even bother to ask his wife for credit.
His tone couldn't help but turn sour: "Didn't Commander Xie tell you?"
Lin Qingqing shook her head: "I guess they didn't have time to say it."
“I guess he didn’t want to tell you these upsetting things,” Yu Xiuhong said, but she felt that her guess was probably true. “You don’t know, do you? After Commander Xie said those things to Deputy Battalion Commander Hong yesterday, Deputy Battalion Commander Hong slapped Yang Li.”
Lin Qingqing looked surprised: "Deputy Battalion Commander Hong hit Yang Li?"
"Yes, a lot of people were watching, and he just started hitting her." Yu Xiuhong felt a little sorry for Yang Li at the time, but after thinking about it, she felt that there must be something hateful about a pitiful person. "She always brags to people that she has a stable position because she gave birth to a son, and she even uses Zhao's wife as an example. But what happened? I don't think her life is necessarily better than Zhao's wife's! You know Zhao, right?"
“She told me.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiuhong scoffed again: "Did she tell you that Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao's wife can't have children, and that they're getting married?"
Did she go back to her hometown after getting married because she couldn't stay in the military?
"almost."
“Don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s been properly transferred back to her hometown. Her work unit provided her with an apartment, and she gets a monthly salary. Her life is incredibly comfortable.” After saying this, Yu Xiuhong checked the time and said to Lin Qingqing, “I’m in a hurry to get to work, so I’m leaving now.” Then she took Chen Jianbang and left.
Lin Qingqing stood still and glanced at the Hong family.
It was getting late, and everyone in the front and back yards was busy, but the Hong family's gate remained tightly shut. It was unclear whether it was because the man had returned or because of what happened last night.
Regardless of the reason, Lin Qingqing didn't stand outside for long, nor did she intend to waste any more energy on Yang Li. Presumably, after what happened yesterday, Yang Li wouldn't bother her with those inexplicable things again.
...
After Lin Qingqing went back to her room to wash up, Xie Wei returned with breakfast.
He woke up before dawn and couldn't fall back asleep in bed, while Lin Qingqing slept soundly because she had stayed up late the night before. So he didn't wake her, got up, got dressed, and went out to exercise.
Xie Wei returned around seven o'clock. This time, Lin Qingqing was awake, but still a little groggy. So, after asking her what she wanted to eat, Xie Wei took his lunchbox and went to the cafeteria to get his food.
When he returned with his food, Lin Qingqing had already washed up. Seeing him come back, she asked, "What did you get?"
"Three steamed buns and a bowl of vegetarian noodles."
The noodles were still served in two separate lunchboxes, covered and stacked together, while the steamed buns were served in a large bowl. Although there weren't many, the bowl was full because the buns were so big.
"I bought two kinds of fillings for the steamed buns. These two are green vegetables, and this one is pickled vegetables. It depends on which one you like."
Lin Qingqing sat down at the dining table, opened the lunchbox containing noodles, and said, "Is it packed in half?"
"Yes, Sister Fu isn't here today," Xie Wei said as he sat down next to Lin Qingqing after washing his hands.
Lin Qingqing said "oh," gave half of the noodles in her bowl to Xie Wei, then took a pickled vegetable bun and said while eating, "I saw that all the vegetables in the field by the door have been pulled up."
Hearing her mention this, Xie Wei said while taking out some steamed buns, "I went to the Hong family yesterday and had a chat with Deputy Battalion Commander Hong."
Lin Qingqing had already heard about this from Yu Xiuhong, so she didn't ask for details and just nodded. Xie Wei didn't elaborate either, only asking, "Do you have an exam tomorrow?"
"Yes, the exam starts at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
When will the results be released?
"Come out on the 12th."
Xie Wei asked thoughtfully, "Did you go for an interview at the supply and marketing cooperative? How did it go?"
"Let me number fifteen"
"I gave them an answer before, and once it's confirmed, it can be done..." Lin Qingqing frowned, put down the steamed bun in her hand, and took a sip of noodle soup.
"What's wrong?" Xie Wei asked, putting down the steamed bun in his hand and reaching for the pickled vegetable bun.
Lin Qingqing quickly put down her lunchbox and said, "No!"
But it was too late. Xie Wei had already tasted the incredibly salty filling of the bun. His brows furrowed slightly as he forced himself to swallow the food in his mouth. Afterward, he also took a sip of the noodle soup: "Why is it so salty?"
"I guess they put too much salt in today," Lin Qingqing guessed.
Xie Wei hummed in agreement, handed the remaining vegetable buns to Lin Qingqing, and said, "You eat this." He then picked out the filling from the vegetable buns and ate the dough.
"I can't eat that much," Lin Qingqing said, breaking off half a steamed bun for Xie Wei. She took a bite of the vegetable bun; it was a bit bland, but bland was better than salty. As she ate, she continued her earlier conversation, "Director Gao said I can start working once my application is approved. So, if the steel mill approves my application, should I go to the steel mill or the supply and marketing cooperative?"
"Didn't you say you weren't confident about the steel mill's exam?" Xie Wei asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I may lack confidence, but there's always a chance, right? Maybe I'll pass!" Although Lin Qingqing felt that her chances of passing or failing were fifty-fifty, there was still a 50% chance of passing, wasn't there?
Xie Wei pondered for a moment and then asked, "What did the supply and marketing cooperative say to you?"
Lin Qingqing wanted to get his opinion, so she told him about Director Gao's promise. Xie Wei understood; Director Gao's offer was indeed sincere, otherwise Lin Qingqing wouldn't have been so conflicted.
"After the steel mill exam, isn't there a few days to consider it?" Xie Wei asked. "If you pass the steel mill exam, you can see the conditions the steel mill offers you before making a decision."
"And what about you? Which job do you think is better?"
Xie Wei finished the half-eaten bun in his hand and remained silent. Lin Qingqing waited for a while, but he didn't say anything. She looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, Xie Wei asked, "Do you know why Battalion Commander Xu's wife has been living at her parents' house for so long?"
"Why?" Lin Qingqing finished her steamed buns and picked up her fast food to eat noodles while asking.
“It takes more than three hours to travel from the steel plant to the family compound, crossing half of Jin City,” Xie Wei said with a frown. “Because the journey is too arduous, Battalion Commander Xu’s wife lives at her parents’ home, which is closer to the steel plant. Battalion Commander Xu visits his wife once a week at his mother-in-law’s house.”
"If you go to work at the steel mill, you'll need to take a three-hour bus ride every day, or live in the steel mill's staff dormitory. So, from my perspective, I would prefer..."
You'll go work at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Hearing his words, Lin Qingqing's expression gradually became serious.
After starting work at the steel mill, if she continued to live in the staff quarters, she would have to catch the earliest shuttle bus to work every morning and the last shuttle bus back at night. Missing these buses would result in absenteeism or being unable to return home. If she moved to the steel mill dormitory, the time she and Xie Wei would inevitably decrease, as Xie Wei's weekend return time was unpredictable. At that time, there were no weekends off at the factory; if they lived in the dormitory, they would be lucky to see each other once a week.
“However,” Xie Wei said, “you gave up your job at home to come and join me in the army, so I don’t want to interfere with your decision this time.”
Lin Qingqing looked at Xie Wei: "But if we go to work at the steel mill, it will be difficult for us to see each other, right?"
“The steel mill should have a phone,” Xie Wei said after thinking for a moment. “I’ll give you the army’s phone number; we can talk in advance if we’re on break.”
Lin Qingqing suddenly realized.
Yes, telephones already existed in the 1970s!
At that time, telephones were still hand-cranked and needed to be connected by a switchboard. Generally, only government departments or organizations had telephones. For example, the front desk of the guesthouse where she had stayed before had a hand-cranked telephone, but because the call charges were relatively expensive, she had never used it and therefore did not think of it at the moment.
With a phone, the problem was easily solved, but this would mean additional expenses. Lin Qingqing did the math: they only met four to eight times a month, and even if they talked on the phone each time, they'd only make a maximum of sixteen calls a month. Assuming each call cost one yuan, that would be a maximum of sixteen yuan a month… It was a bit expensive, but if they fixed their meeting times and called to let each other know in case of any changes, the expenses could be greatly reduced.
As Lin Qingqing turned the corner, she heard Xie Wei say, "So, when it comes to work, you don't need to consider my opinion; just see where you want to go."
The concerns about working at the steel mill were resolved, but the problem came full circle.
Should she go to the supply and marketing cooperative or the steel mill?
In the end, Lin Qingqing said, "I'll wait until the steel mill exam is over before I think about where to go." Perhaps she didn't even get into the steel mill in the end, so naturally she wouldn't have to worry about where to go.
"Hmm, we'll see when the time comes."
...
Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei got up together on Monday morning.
If everything goes smoothly, it takes an hour and a half to get from the residential compound to the steel plant. However, if the bus is late, the commute can take up to two hours.
The exam started at nine o'clock. Lin Qingqing wanted to get there early to familiarize herself with the exam venue, so after breakfast, she went home to pack for a while, then took her paper and pen and set off.
While on the bus, she ran into Li Chunying again. She remembered that Lin Qingqing had signed up for the steel mill's exam, and when she saw her get on the bus, she asked, "Is today the steel mill's recruitment exam?"
“Yes.” Lin Qingqing nodded and sat down in the same spot she had been sitting in before.
"So you're going to take an exam?"
Lin Qingqing nodded again: "That's right."
Upon hearing this, Li Chunying said, "Then I wish you good luck on your exam!"
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "Thank you."
Author's Note: Second update
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com